Activities of Paulo RANGEL related to 2021/2025(INI)
Shadow opinions (1)
OPINION on the Commission’s 2020 Rule of Law Report
Amendments (34)
Amendment 7 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 1
Paragraph 1
1. Welcomes the Commission’s first ever Rule of Law Report as a positive addition to the EU’s toolbox to prevent and address rule of law issues in Member States, while considering that further improvements are needed;
Amendment 7 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 26
Citation 26
— having regard to the report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 17 January 2018 entitled ‘Challenges facing civil society organisations working on human rights in the EU’, and to its other reports and data, published on 17 January 2018, the bulletins on the fundamental rights implications of the Coronavirus pandemic in the EU, published in 2020, and to the Agency’s other reports, data and tools, in particular the European Union Fundamental Rights Information System (EFRIS),
Amendment 12 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2
Paragraph 2
2. Recalls that the Commission’s report iwas a response to the Council’s failure to trigger the procedure under Article 7(1) of the Treaty on European Union (TEU), as requested by the Commission in 2017 and Parliament in 2018; regrets that the Council has failed to resume hearings under Article 7 of the TEU since December 2019; notes that the failure to apply Article 7 of the TEU, also due to the requirement of unanimity for the sanctions mechanism, enables continued divergence from the values enshrined in Article 2 of the TEUcommitment made by President Von Der Leyen in her political guidelines for the 2019-2024 Commission, ahead of her election;
Amendment 18 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 2 a (new)
Paragraph 2 a (new)
2 a. Regrets the Council’s failure to move further the procedure under Article 7(1) TEU, as requested by the Commission in 2017 and the Parliament in 2018; underlines, in the strongest terms, that only qualified majority is required to determine that there is a clear risk of a serious breach by a Member State of the values referred to in Article 2; regrets that the Council has failed to resume hearings under Article 7 TEU since December 2019; notes with concern that the failure to progress in Article 7 TEU procedure enables continued divergence from the values enshrined in Article 2TEU; urges the Portuguese presidency of the Council to take the appropriate steps in order to move further the procedure under Article7(1) TEU;
Amendment 22 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 3
Paragraph 3
3. Regrets that the report fails to fully address all Union values set out in Article 2 of the TEU, such as democracy and fundamental rightsConsiders the scope of the report can be broadened and fine-tuned as requested by the EP; reiterates the need to have a single monitoring system for democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, as proposed by Parliament1 ; calls again on the Council and the Commission to engage in discussions to set up such a mechanism via an interinstitutional agreement; _________________ 1European Parliament resolution of 7 October 2020 on the establishment of an EU Mechanism on Democracy, the Rule of Law and Fundamental Rights (texts adopted, P9_TA(2020)0251).
Amendment 22 #
Motion for a resolution
Citation 50 a (new)
Citation 50 a (new)
— having regard to the report of the European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights of 10 September 2020 on Antisemitism: Overview of antisemitic incidents recorded in the European Union;
Amendment 29 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Welcomes the methodology of the report, which focuses on four pillars: independence of the judiciary, the anti- corruption framework, media pluralism, and checks and balances; invites the Commission to in the next editions broaden the scope of the report, or at least of its first pillar and to include in the next editions an assessment of how the right to a fair trial is guaranteed in Member States, with particular attention paid to the right of defence, andthe equality between prosecution and defence parties and the length of trials; believes that the report should go beyond monitoring and include preventive and corrective elements with a clear outline of enforcement measures;
Amendment 44 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Calls on the Commission to use all tools at its disposal to counter violations of EU values, such as infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, actions to ensure compliance with the judgments of the Court of Justice and applications for interim measures before the Court; welcomes the new rule of law conditionality mechanism and asks that it be fully enforced with regard to all EU funds, including Next Generation EU; reiterates it has entered into force and is binding in its entirety for all commitment appropriations and payment appropriations in all Member States and for the EU institutions; underlines the importance of the direct applicability of the Regulation since 1 January 2021, particularly in the context of the disbursement of the Next Generation EU funds which will occur early in the budget cycle;
Amendment 48 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F a (new)
Recital F a (new)
F a. whereas according to the 2021 World Press Freedom Index the worrisome developments aimed at stifling free speech and press freedom set a bad example within the EU and EU accession candidates;
Amendment 50 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F b (new)
Recital F b (new)
Amendment 52 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F c (new)
Recital F c (new)
F c. whereas the threats to media freedom include harassment and attacks aimed at journalists, disregard of journalists' legal protection as well as media capture or politically motivated actions in the media sector;
Amendment 53 #
Motion for a resolution
Recital F d (new)
Recital F d (new)
F d. whereas it is necessary to strengthen and streamline existing mechanisms and develop an effective mechanism to ensure that the principles and values enshrined in the Treaties are upheld throughout the Union;
Amendment 56 #
Draft opinion
Paragraph 6
Paragraph 6
6. Highlights that the COVID-19 pandemic has had a deleterious impact on fundamental rights as well as on constitutional checks and balances; insists that any measures restricting the rights and freedoms of EU citizens should be transparent, proportional and temporary; calls on the Commission to furthercontinue analyseing measures taken in response to the COVID- 19 pandemic in its 2021 report.
Amendment 81 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 4
Paragraph 4
4. Calls for a more integrated analysis on the interlinkages between the four pillars included in the report and of how combined deficiencies may amount to systemic breaches of the rule of law; calls on the Commission to propose EU Anti- SLAPP legislation to protect journalists from vexatious lawsuits;
Amendment 88 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 5
Paragraph 5
5. Considers that the annual reports should identify cross-cutting trends at Union level; believes that a Union-wide perspective is absent from the 2020 report; asks the Commission to identify instances where certain practices undermining the rule of law are becoming blueprints for others or when the gravity and scope of such practices have the potential to affect the Union as a whole; calls on the Commission to clearly illustrate systematic disinformation and foreign interference campaigns with the aim of undermining public trust in state institutions and independent media, while pushing Member States towards authoritarian-style governance structures;
Amendment 108 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 6 a (new)
Paragraph 6 a (new)
6 a. Recalls that the Union's judicial architecture includes national justice systems; expresses its concern about the alleged political interference on the appointment of some members of the European Public Prosecutor's Office; recalls the lack of transparency in the nomination of the Portuguese European Prosecutor;
Amendment 126 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 8
Paragraph 8
8. Decries the fact that the initiation of preliminary ruling proceedings before the Court of Justice of the EU has been declared unlawful in Member States subject to Article 7political pressure in Member States subject to Article 7 of the TEU to prevent the initiation of preliminary ruling proceedings by national courts before the Court of Justice of the TEU; is appalled by the growing resistance of some Member States to comply with CJEU rulings on the grounds of sovereignty or unconstitutionality; believes that these developments pose a systemic threat to the Unionunity of EU law and to the functioning of the Union as such; considers, therefore, that forthcoming annual reports should consider challenges to the Union’s legal architecture and principles as serious violations in the assessment; calls on the Commission to closely monitor the rulings of national courts regarding the primacy of EU law over national constitutional norms; urges the Commission to ensure immediate and adequate responses to refusals to implement and respect CJEU judgements, such as court actions following Article 260 TFEU;
Amendment 142 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9
Paragraph 9
9. Welcomes the dedication of a specific chapter to anti-corruption efforts in each country report; points out that while the existence of national anticorruption strategies can be considered progress, their effectiveness on the grouimplementation and subsequent effectiveness on the ground are crucial for the rule of law and must also be assessed; notes that an assessment of the resilience of the anti-corruption framework to tackle corruption-related risks in the area of public procurement remains largely absent from the 2020 report; invites the Commission to place greater emphasis on the misuse of EU funds, particularly in view of the new conditionality mechanism;
Amendment 145 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 9 a (new)
Paragraph 9 a (new)
9 a. Is concerned by the rise of illiberal tendencies as well as corruption; underlines the dangers of this trend for the cohesion of the Union’s legal order, the functioning of its single market, the effectiveness of its common policies and its international credibility;
Amendment 151 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 10
Paragraph 10
10. Welcomes the inclusion in the report of a specific chapter on monitoring media freedom and pluralism; urges the Commission to provide an assessment of the efficiency and effectiveness of the national frameworks for the protection of media freedom and media pluralism; calls on the Commission to put a specific focus on murder cases of journalists with a particular focus on the effective subsequent criminal investigations and proceedings;
Amendment 156 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 11
Paragraph 11
11. Deplores the lack of assessment as regards the public and private media sector at national level and its degree of independence from government or any other interference and an assessment of transparency of media ownership; believes that proper implementation of Article 30 of the 2018 Audiovisual Media Services Directive19 should be closely monitored; calls in this regard on the Commission to examine attempts of intimidation and defamation of journalists, in particular by public service broadcasters; in this context, highlights the trend that increasingly also foreign journalists are directly attacked as public enemies for their investigative reports; _________________ 19 OJ L 303, 28.11.2018, p. 69.
Amendment 166 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12
Paragraph 12
12. Is alarmed by the growing deterioration of media freedom and media pluralism in some Member States since the publication of the 2020 report; observes with concern that challenges to media freedom are interlinked with the undermining of the freedom of expression, artistic freedom and academic freedom; recalls in this regard physical, psychological and economic threats directed towards journalists that have so far resulted in the murder of investigative journalists; calls, therefore, for this pillar to be expanded to all aspects of freedom of expression and for the title of the pillar to be adapted accordingly;
Amendment 170 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 12 a (new)
Paragraph 12 a (new)
12 a. Highlights the irreplaceable role of public service media and stresses that it is essential to ensure and maintain their independence and freedom from political interference; highlights the need to ensure financial independence and conditions for sustainable activity by private media operators to avoid political capture of the media;
Amendment 192 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 14 a (new)
Paragraph 14 a (new)
14 a. Recalls the importance of independent national human rights institutions and national ombudsman bodies, in full compliance with the Paris Principles, as well as equality bodies, in preserving citizens' rights and being able to defend the rule of law at national, regional and local level;
Amendment 205 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 16 a (new)
Paragraph 16 a (new)
16 a. Calls on the Commission to include country chapters of all candidate and potential candidate countries to EU enlargement with an in-depth analysis on their justice systems, anti-corruption frameworks, on media freedom and pluralism, as well as on institutional checks and balances;
Amendment 223 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 19
Paragraph 19
19. Calls on the Member States to present annual reports on democracy, the rule of law and fundamental rights, including equality and rights of persons belonging to minorities, as part of the Union’s annual reporting mechanism;
Amendment 225 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 20
Paragraph 20
20. Welcomes the Commission’s announcement of its strategy to strengthen the application of the Charter of Fundamental Rights; believes that such an annual review should provide input for a comprehensive mPoints out that the mechanism should consolidate and supersede existing instruments to avoid duplication, in particular the Commission’s annual rule of law report, the Commission’s Rule of Law Framework, the Commission’s annual reporting on the application of the Charter, the Council’s Rule of Law Dialogue and the Cooperation and Verification Mechanism (CVM), while increasing complementarity and coherence with other available tools, including procedures under Article 7 TEU, infringement proceedings and budgetary conditoring mechanism and that its methodology, cycle and scope should therefore be aligned wiionality once in force; considers that the three institutions should use the findings from the Annual Monitoring Cycle in their assessment for the purposes of triggering Article 7 TEU and of budgetary conditionality once in force; stresses that the roles and prerogatives of each of the the annual reportsree institutions must be respected;
Amendment 238 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21
Paragraph 21
21. Calls on the Commission to strengthen the regular, inclusive and structured dialogue with governments and national parliaments, NGOs, professional associations and other stakeholders; notes that three24 Member States refused totransparently makde public their submissions for the 2020 report; calls for full transparency in the process and for all submissions to be made public;
Amendment 239 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 21 a (new)
Paragraph 21 a (new)
21 a. Calls on the Commission to invite the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights to provide methodological advice and conduct targeted comparative research to fill gaps and add detail in key areas of the rule of law report in addition to the contributions the Agency already makes in terms of, for instance, using EFRIS and data on civic space;
Amendment 279 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 26
Paragraph 26
26. Reiterates that the annual report should serve as a basis for deciding whether to activate the procedure provided for in Article 7 of the TEU, whether to activate the Rule of Law Framework or whether to launch infringement procedures, including expedited procedures, applications for interim measures before the Court of Justice and actions regarding non-implementation of CJEU judgments concerning the protection of Union values; considers that the Conference on the future of Europe could further clarify in Treaty provisions the well-established legal principle on the primacy of EU law;
Amendment 287 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27
Paragraph 27
27. Calls for the Commission to use the findings of the annual report in its assessment thatReiterates its positions as laid down in its resolution of 17 December 2020; stresses that the Rule of Law Conditionality Regulation has entered into force and is binding in its entirety for all commitment appropriations and payment appropriations in all Member States and forms the basis of the mechanism to protect the budget against breaches of the principle of the rule of law; reiterates its call on the Commission to dedicate a specific section of the annual report toEU institutions; underlines the importance of the direct applicability of the Regulation since 1 January 2021, particularly in the context of the disbursement of the NextGenerationEU funds which will occur early in the budget cycle; recalls that the Commission ‘shall be completely independent’, and its members ‘shall neither seek nor take instructions from any Government’ in accordance with Article 17(3) of the TEU and Article 245 of the TFEU; recalls further that in accordance with Article 17(8) of the TEU, the Commission ‘shall be responsible to the European Parliament’; asks the Commission to include in its annual Rule of Law Report a dedicated section with an analysis of cases where breaches of the principles of the rule of law in a particular Member State could affect or seriously risk affecting the sound financial management of the Union budget in a sufficiently direct way;
Amendment 291 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 27 a (new)
Paragraph 27 a (new)
27 a. Calls on the Commission to launch a dedicated programme that supports innovative initiatives with the aim of promoting formal and informal education with regard to the rule of law and democratic institutions among EU citizens of all ages, in particular at local and regional level;
Amendment 298 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 28
Paragraph 28
28. Calls on the Commission to assess in successive reports how the issues identified in the areas analysed in previous reports have evolved, clearly outlining positive and negative trends;
Amendment 309 #
Motion for a resolution
Paragraph 29
Paragraph 29
29. Calls on the Commission to make clear in its annual Rule of Law Reports that not all rule of law shortcomings and violations are of the same nature and/or intensity and that when the values listed in Article 2 of the TEU are violated gravely, permanently and systematically, the authoritarian-style governance structures and elements of a given Member States should be clease being democraciesrly denoted as such;